Nature of the Job [C-Search]

[Morishige]

It was Oto that stopped Nobuyuki from continuing his run; both his exclamation and actions confused the captain. If he had jumped off in the direction of the beast, then Nobuyuki could only assume his little trick had worked. But such a little trick had taken it's toll on his body. He turned around to look at the beast and slumped a bit. His hands moved to his knees and he was taking some deep breaths as Oto was starting to climb on top of it. Naturally, almost like a human child, his admiration of the beast was quite funny and cute; he wanted Nobuyuki to come and join him. With a happy sigh, he trudged forward across the sand. His fatigue made it just a bit harder to maneuver in it now.

But in an instant, Nobuyuki's body went rigid as the beast began moving again. "Oto watch out! Jump!" he called. But the creature didn't seem to have malicious intent. Instead it looked straight at the captain and lowered it's head, at least as much as it could have. Oto the curious devised that the beast had intentions to let them ride it. Was this how it worked in this country when it came to the wildlife? As the sun rose, Nobuyuki stood with hesitation. What if the thing just ate him when he got near. Decisions...decisions...

As the sun rose, and with Oto yelling at him, Nobuyuki advanced and jumped with just a bit of chakra to propel him up onto the behemoth near to Oto. Upon landing he shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't the faintest idea how we would even control such a thing. How is it going to know where to go?" he said, looking about. Maybe they would just stomp around to give the thing an idea of which way to go. "I could shoot off flame jutsu in certain directions in whichever way we want it to go. But I don't know if it would even respond to that." he grumbled and looked to Oto with curiosity. "I know it's a dumb question, but have you ever tried to do something with those powers of yours? They effect the world around you, but have you ever tried to change the world, I don't know, with your mind?"

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Almost as if the worm knew what Nobuyuki was saying, it began moving. It seemed as if it knew exactly where it should go, and would have no troubles getting there. The beast's head bobbed up and down as it squirmed through Soon's Haven, likely causing the ride to be a bit bumpy for it's passengers. When Oto was asked if he has ever tried to actually use his powers, he thought about it for a bit. "No, I don't think I have actually." He replied. The question made Oto think about what he's been doing with his gift, since it seemed he normally just let his power run wild and affect whatever it affects. After a bit of traveling, he finally seemed to think of something.

"Maybe I'll try doing something now!" As he finished saying this, he began concentrating as much as he could on.. Something. It didn't seem like his hard work was really doing anything, until their mount's glowing eyes suddenly started glowing brighter. They seemed to continue getting brighter the more the tiger concentrated, until the worm finally stopped and began throwing a fit. It was just mild enough to allow the two to keep their balance on the worm, and eventually it stopped. The beast did not continue moving after stopping, it just stayed where it was. Then it's head exploded.

The explosion sent the ninja and his faithful tiger companion flying into the air, which would obviously lead to them falling as well. They were sent surprisingly high into the air, as they were able to see the edge of Oto's power, and also see as it's area of effect slowly shrank. After Oto was finished being distracted by watching his power fade, he began panicking about the fact they were dangerously high in the air.

"We need to get down!" He said, forgetting that they were currently falling. "Sorry, we need to get down, safely." The tiger explained, making a swimming motion to try and get as close to Nobuyuki as possible.​

 

[Morishige]

Nobuyuki was apprehensive about his suggestion. It was one of those moments that a person immediately regretted afterwards. He had no idea what effects the little cat's powers were going to have. As they moved across the dunes to whatever destination the beast had in his mind, it's eyes began to glow bright as Oto focused. The ANBU captain raised one of his arms in front of his body in case the thing was going to start breathing fire again. But instead, nothing happened; that is, until it became a sand worm rodeo. "Tch!" grunted Nobuyuki as he had to used chakra to keep himself planting on the sand worm.

The next thing he knew, he was flying in the air after it's head exploded with such force as to propel them dangerously into the air. Nobuyuki looked to the little tiger who started swimming towards him in a panic. The situation was not good, but Nobuyuki couldn't help but laugh. "You made it's head explode! Maybe we should avoid using your power in case mine's next on the list of exploding things." he laughed whilst reaching his hand out to grab one of the cats groping paws.

He looked at the ground, it was approaching fast. In the sky there were to shadows, so he couldn't use his primary element to save them. "Hold you breath." he commanded. He knew cats hated water, but it was the best he could come up with in the limited time. Handseals were made, and his hand bubbled a water prison around Oto. He used a substantial amount of chakra to surround the cat in a great deal of water so that it would cushion his fall. But now he had to figure out how he was going to land safely. An old favorite perhaps... Nobuyuki made a water shark bomb, but made it beneath him so that he could ride the gliding shark down towards the desert below. If it weren't for his chakra concentration, he would have likely fallen through the creation.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Oto was relieved when his paw was grabbed, but he was still worried about how his partner planned on getting them down safely. The only thing he could look at as they feel was the ground, and when Nobu explained that he should hold his breath, he didn't hear it. So when a massive orb of water suddenly began forming around him and his paw was released, the tiger began freaking out a little when he tried to take a deep breath in. Thankfully, he stopped himself before he inhaled too much, but was still coughing till the orb he was trapped in slammed into the ground and dispersed. The cat gasped for air in between coughs when he saw his traveling companion giggling as he rode a giant shark made of water to the dunes below. He didn't actually know if he was giggling, but assumed that's what somebody would do in that situation.

When the shark slammed into the ground, leaving a spot of wet sand where it would've been had it been a real shark, Oto ran to Nobuyuki to see if he was alright. It seemed he was okay, unless he was a bit out of it after the shock of ramming into the ground like that, so the cat let out a sigh of relief and sat down. He would wait for his partner to begin moving around again before he tried to continue walking or saying anything.

"Next time you should warn me when you're going to do something like that!" The cat yelled, not realizing that he had been warned beforehand. After a few seconds, Oto would sigh again, then begin walking. "I guess we should keep moving though, the water does feel nice in this heat..." He still had no idea where to go, but wouldn't admit this to his partner, unless he was interrogated, then he might. But he doubted that would happen, so felt it was safe to pretend to be confident that he did know. Little did he know, however, he wouldn't have to pretend.

Just as the last bit of his power faded, what looked like a tear in the sky opened up right where the last amount of black sky had disappeared from sight. It made little to no noise at first, but still attracted the attention of the cat. He stared in awe at the power that was being displayed before him. Yet it seemed he knew what it was, just like with the worm's glowing red eyes. After it was completely open, a loud roaring noise came from it's depths, and a large tiger followed soon after. If Nobuyuki didn't move, he'd nearly be crushed by the beast's massive paws as it landed directly in front of him. The tiger was easily 20 feet tall. It stood still for a few moments before bending it's head down and looking the Shinobi in the face.

"What do you plan on doing with my child?" It said with a holier than thou attitude and a voice to match. If any moves to get away or to get to Oto were made, would be met with a growl or a swing of it's paw to prevent Nobu from doing so. If nothing was done, Oto would eventually stop staring at the massive tear in the sky, and realize that his mother had come to visit! "Mom, it's okay! He helped me get here!" He would say to the tiger that was threatening his partner. The beast's ears twitched after hearing this, and she quickly laughed and sat down in the sand to begin dusting the Shinobi off. "Sorry about that! My little Oto always gets himself into trouble when I let him wander around this place. Poachers you see." Her attitude was completely different than it was before, even her tone of voice was different. Both of the animals would give Nobuyuki a moment to take in what had happened, or to ask any questions he might have.​

 

[Morishige]

The landing could have been more graceful, but transitioning from a liquid to a solid never went well when falling from such a height. Sand rolled into every crack in his clothes as Nobuyuki rolled across the dunes. One of his hands moved to his ribs and he groaned. "Broken...likely." he said, taking in sharp painful intakes of air. That and his head hurt from the impact with the sand, but that was expected. But he would slowly roll over onto his hands and knees before slowly getting to one knee. After about a minute he stood to his full stature and looked down to Oto with a forced grin. The feline had words for him! Was this what it was like to have children?

And they began moving in some unknown direction even though Oto had no idea what direction they needed to go, unbeknown-st to the ANBU captain, Nobuyuki coped with his new injury. It had been some time since he had actually been injured in battle. His strategies usually went off pretty well, especially as a higher ranking shinobi it allowed him to stay more removed from fights and let the cannon fodder take on the injuries. That wasn't often though. But his thoughts were interrupted by Oto looking off in some direction to which he followed with his eyes. But it was his ears that let him know something was about to go down. "Not another enemy... give me time to heal..." he thought to himself as the giant beast paws came fast approaching. He leaped haphazardly to his side, careful to roll and land on the ribs that weren't broken.

When he turned to look for the giant cat, he was met with his face close to his. Fear. Nobuyuki hadn't felt that afraid in a long time. For a creature that size, he could have easily been eaten like a mouse. He remained frozen while being assaulted by the bellowing voice of... Oto's mother? Nobuyuki's lips parted to speak but nothing came out, his voice had caught in the back of his throat. Why was this such a surprise after seeing what he had seen that day. Thankfully Oto came to the rescue! And not moments after a giant paw was brushing against him getting all the sand and dust that covered his body off of him. Naturally it came with some discomfort with the broken ribs, but Nobuyuki was just glad that the angry mother was replaced with a thankful one.

"Yes, we had a run in with them." he grunted as a got to his feet to speak with a giant tiger. It wasn't everyday this happened. "Though I daresay, with his powers we ran into some things that made them seem like easy pickings." Nobuyuki added, giving a cheeky smile and a nod towards Oto. He intended for the little guy to go intent a flurry of a story for his mother. At least, if he had a kid he wouldn't want to take that opportunity away from him.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Nobuyuki's mention of Oto's power brought a look of despair to the mother's face. Not because something dangerous happened to them, but because of dangerous things that happened in the past. "Yeah... I know how you feel." She mumbled, staring into the sand for a little while she remembered just what was done to her as well. For a child's power to be strong enough to cause even a giant tiger to be frightened... After a few minutes of staring at sand, the mother finally snapped back to attention and looked at the shinobi. "So, I guess if you managed to survive something as... Scary as that. You must be pretty strong, right?" The look of despair from before turned into a more hopeful one as the beast got a little closer to Nobu.

"Tell you what, I'll give you something SUPER cool if you agree to do something for me." The beast turned one of her paws over, and in it appeared a scroll. She assumed that someone of this man's power would know what it was, but just in case, "This, if you don't already know, is a contract scroll. You can summon any kind of feline companion to help you with whatever you need. Cool right? Now heres the catch." She looked to Oto before speaking, and seeing how he was playing with some lizard in the sand, she knew it would be safe to talk without him noticing. "Obviously Oto is a pain in the ass. But he's my pain in the ass, and if you want this contract, I want him to be your pain in the ass, too. He's taken a bit of a liking to you, and since I don't want to have to deal with his power whenever he comes down here, I want you to!"

The tiger would give Nobuyuki a little time to think about the offer, and actually planned on making a contract with him regardless of whether or not he agreed to the final "condition" she had. It would be rude not to give him something that was of equal worth for her son's life after all. But if he did agree, he would simply have to baby sit the tiger whenever he came to this realm, at least until he learned to control that troublesome power of his.

"So you in or not?" She would ask after giving the man some time, and soon after asking this, Oto would walk over and sit down next to one of her paws. He noticed the scroll, and immediately knew what was going on. This made him look to Nobuyuki with sparkling eyes, as if he also knew that he may get a new friend for when he wanted to play!​

 

[Morishige]

For a long moment, she seemed to be lost in thought, staring at the sand. Nobuyuki wasn't going to interrupt a giant predators thoughts. But when she finally did speak, he was unsure if he liked what he heard. Those were usually the mannerisms of someone who was looking to get something out of him. But he would nod his head none the less. Not in arrogance, just simply agreeing with the woman's instincts.

Her paw faced upwards and Nobuyuki realized what was happening. He had indeed been a shinobi long enough to understand what was going on here. But he had never once actually considered it might happen to him. Just happening upon a talking tiger was a rare chance, but this was even rarer. She explained it in terms that any human would understand. She was offering him a great asset, but in exchange for what? What was the catch?

Nobuyuki's face went from curiosity to a hilarious stare at the mother. He would never have said but he was basically being asked to be the young cat's adoptive parent. He had been immature and troublesome their entire trip, and his powers were the worst of it, but he was the cutest thing that Nobuyuki had ever come in contact with. In fact, the young feline reminded him of himself when he first learned to manipulate shadows as a Nara.

Nobuyuki looked to Oto and nodded his head. "I accept, but just so you know, it's just a tad colder where I live than here in the desert. I hope that fur can adjust to the temperature." jested Nobuyuki, rubbing his arms as if it were cold with a smile on his face. But he looked up to Oto's mother.

"What must I do to seal this contract?"

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Oto's mother let out a sigh of relief when the shinobi accepted her offer. There's no way she would last much longer with that troublesome power that the boy just couldn't seem to get a handle on. When asked how he would sign the contract, she nodded and placed the scroll on the ground. Pushing her claws from her paw, she pushed the scroll open.

"It's simple, you sign your name in blood and leave a little thumb print underneath it." She extended her paw, claws still out, to the shinobi, "If you need some way to prick your finger, you can use my claws. Hope your not allergic to cats!" The beast would wait for Nobuyuki to do his thing, if he was going to go through with his decision, then roll it closed again. "Go ahead and keep that scroll, I have more anyways." With that, she would look to Oto and tilt her head, her own special way of asking if he was ready to leave. The young tiger nodded, and smiled at Nobuyuki one last time.

"I thank you again for saving little Oto, he wouldn't have lasted long if you hadn't been there for him." Oto's mother turned around and began tearing at the air with one of her claws, causing a portal to slowly open as she did. This portal was very similar to the on that she came out of in the first place, but a little neater now that she didn't suspect her child's life was in danger. Oto, on the other hand, walked back to Nobuyuki and sat in front of him.

"Thanks for playing with me, it was really fun!" The child exclaimed before his mother called to him, making him turn around and run through the tear after her. Nobuyuki would be left with no explanation as to how to summon any felines using the scroll he was given, and would need to figure out how to on his own, or ask someone else how. All because Oto's mother forgot to explain, and there's no way Oto would've been any help with that. Any attempt to call out to them in the tear would be useless, as the tear began closing once Oto was all the way inside. But he was sure to see at least one of them again, after all, he did agree to the beast's terms.

{Search Succesful! You now own the feline contract!}